Water Quality Policy and Management in Asia

Asia's 48 countries have an estimated 1.757 billion urban population and 2.4 billion people in rural areas (or approximately 60 per cent of the global population). Divided into central, eastern, southern, south-eastern and western regions, the continent is also extremely heterogeneous in terms of water quality conditions. The policies and management practices vary significantly from one country to another, and even within one country, depending on specific economic, political, social, environmental, legal and institutional factors. In order to appreciate the complexities associated with water quality policy and management, it is important to acknowledge the multiplicity of interrelated and often conflicting events, issues, actors and interests, both within and outside the water sector that impact them. This complexity, alongside institutional inability for systematic and coordinated collaboration, are potent reasons as to why, in the second decade of the 21st century, formulation and implementation of efficient water quality management policies benefitting humankind and the environment have still not been achieved.

The book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Development.

Content:

Foreword 1. Editorial 2. Water Quality: Assessment of the Current Situation in Asia 3.Economic Incentives Can Enhance Policy Efforts to Improve Water Quality in Asia 4. Exploring the Boundaries of Water Quality Management in Asia 5. Emerging Contaminants and the Implications for Drinking Water 6. An Overview of Policies Impacting Water Quality and Governance in India 7. Water Quality Management in China 8. An Integrated Management Approach for Water Quality and Quantity: Case Studies in North China 9. Institutional Capacity on Water Pollution Control of the Pearl River in Guangzhou, China 10. Soil Erosion Control and Sediment Load Reduction in the Loess Plateau: Policy Perspectives 11. Managing Urban Rivers and Water Quality in Malaysia for Sustainable Water Resources 12. Improving Groundwater Quality Management for the Sustainable Utilization of the Bangkok Aquifer System 13. Nutrient Balance Assessment in the Mekong Basin: Nitrogen and Phosphorus Dynamics in a Catchment Scale